By Dr. Alicia Schatteman, Director, Center for Nonprofit and NGO Studies
Job titles matter. They are guideposts and signals to staff and those outside of the organization about who does what. They also indicate the priorities of the organization since those job titles are tied to budget lines and therefore resource allocation through the budget process. Personnel is typically the largest expense category since nonprofits provide services through people.
Job titles reflect organizational priorities
But beyond the typical job title and description, titles also indicate an organization’s values, culture, and even strategic priorities. For example, if the organization values donors and development then you would expect to see maybe a director of development or donor relations. If the organization values the role of technology to carry out the organization’s mission then you may find an individual with the title of chief information officer or director of information services. The title also affects the extent to which that individual is close to the leadership level, participating in organization-wide discussions, or are they relegated to tactical duties with little influence on organizational decisions. Titles matter.
Title of Top Nonprofit Staff
A nonprofit recently reached out to me since they are seeking a new leader for their organization and wondered if they should consider a title change for that role. In this case, they were wondering what I thought of changing the title for the most senior staff person from executive director to chief executive officer. Here was my response:
So there is no hard and fast rule about the top staff person job title. I would say in general, Executive Director is more common for nonprofit organizations but many nonprofits choose to call their executive director, a chief executive officer instead. This is normally driven by board members who recognize that title in the business world. So if the nonprofit board has a number of people from business/corporations, then they may want to see the title change. I certainly see this title used more by business-serving nonprofits such as chambers of commerce or trade associations for example. It is less common in health or human service organizations which tend to primarily interact with the public and government, since that is where the majority of their revenue comes from.
The only possible downside in the title change is who you wish to attract to apply for the role. Do you want them to have a nonprofit background and possibly come from a more nonprofit culture/public service orientation or do you wish them to have a business/management background that has a more customer orientation? That is a discussion for the board, which will likely depend on who serves on your board as well. So the title will influence the people attracted to the job, could influence or reinforce the culture of the organization, and would affect the job requirements (both education and experience) that you expect a candidate to have.
So titles do matter. They signal priorities, culture, values, and the type of individuals you think are the best fit for your organization.
Webinar on Nonprofit Human Resources
Join our online conversation about nonprofit human resources with Marlene Walk, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis and Paul A. LaLonde, SHRM-CP, Vice President of People and Culture for CEDA of Cook County on September 14 from 12-1 pm. Register for this event and others in this series at http://go.niu.edu/mv2i8v.
Resources:
- Nonprofit Careers from the Center for Nonprofit and NGO Studies
- Managing Nonprofit Employees from the National Council of Nonprofits
